I've recently finished reading Noam Chomsky's Understanding Power. Its a compilation of his talks on power around the States. This was my first Chomsky. I frankly think he's a socialist & more so, an academic. While he admits there are people around him, who DO the things that he ONLY advocates, i think much of the things he advocates may not be practisable.
I will present a short synopsis of what i understood from the book. (It is in my words specifically, since I cannot claim to understand the true value / dialogue of the book). Chomsky essentially says that American democracy is a hogwash. America is essentially a military-state, where those in power wield enormous influence & direct the society at large. Even powerful politicians are at the mercy of those in power. & who is in power? The corporations. The corporations have created ways of controlling labour, funding themselves with public money and selling the outputs at profit, using the power to control competition, etc. He says that competition is harmful to any corporation, hence they use power to create acts which specifically diminishes competition. His examples are quite noteworthy & believable. He goes on to say that the Pentagon-NASA system is essentially a tool to fund the corporates without questioning, since war / defense is a subject beyond democratic control. America is essentially creating fear within its populace, and using public funds to subsidize industry. He also goes on to say how labour unions in their true sense have been systematically dismanteld by the corporations, so that over decades, wages are decreasing and working hours are increasing. Also, there is decrease in absolute manufacturing in the States, as it shifts from US to third world countries (reducing employment in US), while increasing profits of the corporations. Specualtion since two decades has increased profits without actually increasing production.
Another important message is that America also tries to meddle with other true democracies, so that they do not succeed. Cuba, Haiti, Panama, etc. have tried excellent democratic systems, which have crashed due to US interference.
His third point is that the public is kept blind by media control. The American media never covers any propaganda against America. They also take up selective feeds so that the public mind is diverted / distracted / twisted.
His final & most scary point is that the latest uprising is a consequence of such policies over 5 decades. The results of control have led to creation of violent elements which are beyond corporate control. Hence, the media is now opening up, in order to control the damage.
His thoughts are provocative & scary, but I wouldn't treat them as untruthful. Like he says, we all feel at some point of time how the capitalist system is bringing the general public down over the years. Its about maximizing profit. Power is also about profits. This is where i don't get his point. Profits for power i can understand. For, power is an emotion that is craved for by many. But money being the result for which power is usurped? I don't feel convinced. I may be drawing wrong conclusions. But all his talks point to the fact that the rich want to get richer at the cost of the poor / weaker people. And where would this lead them? He says America protects its businesses from everything: foreign businesses, competition, labour strifes, consumers, etc. But if the consumers dont remain, why would the businesses exist? Does it mean that those in power have such a narrow view that they don't want to look beyond immidiate profits? Would they create such a huge system for short term gains? I think there is a greater truth that, either he doesn't want to point out, or is still beyond the level of everyone's understanding.
Time and again, humans have used the props of aliens / gods in order to create order and hold power over entire societies. That is a very acceptable concept. In the capital society, the same is created by the myth of democracy, while the real power is held by the corporations (their owners). We can all see that happening, in terms of large SEZ projects, where public land is being usurped by the rich corporates for said development. It leads to profits for the rich, while the poor are left with nothing. I am not against development. But inclusive development is still not learnt by us.
India seems to be going the Chomsky way. We are worshipping the individual against the power of community. In a sense the corporations are creating propaganda to divide us. Once the individual rises, the selfish thoughts stop us from helping the others / standing for a cause. It is also a way to gain political mileage. We can see in the aftermath, where we know things are going wrong, but are unable to effect an improvement; simply because there is no way we can come together.
I had an enlightening discussion with a friend's parents the other day. They told me how NCC (national cadet corps) & NSS (nation social service corps) were necessary commitments during the earlier days. Also, during the food scarcity, most people in the country observed a Vijay vrath in order to save food. This was followed by the rich as much as the poor. Even the restaurants were closed every one day of the week. During the 1965 war, we didn't have enough food / clothing for the army. These were donated by the public. In addition, every lady of the house was made to undertake nurse / first aid training for emergency situations.
Those were days when we used to come together for a cause / any cause. Now we do come together, but only for a violent purpose, or for a selfish cause. The cause of the nation is no longer important to us. While i agree there are many institutions in the country that bring people together, these are not controlled by the public. In each successively rising institution, the leader wields the entire power, leaving the foot soliders to die. I remember my parents telling me: there was a time when Shiv Sena was lauded, because it used to have workers in every slum of Mumbai, who used to settle domestic disputes / perform social work. They were a support system for the general public. Now that they have risen to power, their whole viewpoint has changed, and they are pushing agendas far beyond the reason they were given power.
Chomsky also creates an analogy of Hitler's situation. Hitler was funded initially by the Jews. The Jews were the rich corporates in 1930s germany. The public movement was large, and had negotiated a 35 hour workweek. Hitler promised to dismantle the unions under a greater cause, and the corporations agreed. They were happy to have increased working hours & lesser wages, leading to larger profits. However their short-sightedness made them pay heavily. Hitler was crazy for power & led to Germany's downfall.
Are we creating similar institutions around us? Are we supporting greed & leading to our own downfall? What is the true institution of democracy? As citizens, do we sit as greedy individuals & forgo our responsibilities?
I think we are too manipulated by the media & capitalism in order to run after material achivements. Our achievements, when measured in cars / houses / golf clubs / yatchs will seem great. But, when measured against quality time with friends / parents, aid to the needful, time for oneself, will measure so poorly that we will feel violated.
If we only look at the bare truth: our unity can bring together values that define our species. Very truly, we are social beings. We cannot live long with our individualistic fantasies and keep company to our inanimate gadgets. Very soon, our gadgets will replace our friends, family and worst of all: ourselves. The time is not far. Computers are already diminishing our capacity to work, reducing our sharpness.
A friend today told me about a company he audits. Its an electricity firm in which the consumer's electrical meters need to be read frequently. Earlier, the readers needed to fill a piece of paper. They had to take notice that the reading was not below last time's reading, was not too much above last time's reading & mark it if it was zero. For that, the company would need people good at doing math. More importantly, the people's basic skills would be preserved. Now, the company has handheld computers where data only needs to be feeded in. The computer calculates all values & gives out necessary notices. It means that the job can be given to any unskilled labour. If one were to project into the future, a computer may drive itself & take the reading, or better still, the reading will be transferred via a wireless device attached to the meter. It is true that the jobs have been transferred to those who make these machines: skilled electronics labour, computer programmers, etc. But its not hard to project how they too will be replaced soon. Automation is good, i agree, but is it over done?
As an analogy, we all see the obesity problem around the world. People are increasingly overfed and new diseases have come up. In a similar fashion, are there limits to automation? self-governed limits? more importantly, will increasing automation give us increased happiness? Will it create a better society?
Frankly, i too am brainwashed by current media, and am trying not to agree with my own viewpoint. But, these are important questions? Can I atleast seek an answer to them? Only if, to prove myself wrong.....
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